BROOKSVILLE -- Though he knew better, Bruce Bowes allowed his hopes
to temporarily rise when he saw a sign just before the northern end of
the Suncoast Parkway bicycle trail.

"There's a sign back there saying Weeki Wachee, a half-mile," said Bowes,
41, from Orlando.

"How deceptive."

A matter of 15 miles or more was significant to Bowes because he was
on his bicycle and had, by about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, ridden close to 50
miles.

But because he was participating in the annual ride to raise money for
the Mid-Florida Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, he
had plenty of company.

Nearly 350 riders joined the ride, which took them from Citrus Park
in Tampa, up the parkway's bike trail, into northern Hernando County and
eventually to Weeki Wachee Springs, where they rested in the shade of the
trees at the southern end of the parking lot.

The event not only offered cyclists a challenging, well-organized ride,
said Joe Robinson, a captain with the Orlando Police Department, it also
gave them the satisfaction of working for a good cause.

Riders are required to raise $175 in donations to the society to participate,
said Tami Caesar, president of the Mid-Florida Chapter. But the average
rider actually raised closer to $400, she said, and the event was expected
to raise a total of about $125,000.

"The MS Society does a great job," said Robinson, who rode with a nine-member
team from his department.

"The general consensus is that these rides are very, very well organized.
It's a good charitable cause, and it's a chance for us cyclists to get
out and enjoy our bikeways."

The riders seemed unanimously to agree that the best stretch was on
the parkway's trail.

"It's very smooth, and you don't have to worry about traffic," said
Karen Parks, 26, of Orlando, who rode with friends Bowes and Joe Santos,
also both of Orlando.

After leaving the trail, riders headed north on Grove Road and eventually
headed west on Centralia Road, then south to Weeki Wachee on U.S. 19.

They were originally scheduled to ride 75 miles Saturday and return
by the same route Sunday. That included a leg on County Road 550 to Bayport
before stopping at Weeki Wachee. But Barbara Franks, who coordinated the
tour, said the first riders back reported being crowded off the road by
cars pulling boats and being harassed by some of the drivers.

For safety reasons, she said, she cut out the Bayport stretch for later
riders, which trimmed about 14 miles from the 75-mile route.

Considering that the day began to warm rapidly in the afternoon, that
was generally a popular decision, she said.

"I don't think anyone was complaining because they were so tired and
so hot," she said.